Attorney General Eric Holder's frustration over the criticism of the way the Justice Department handled a voting rights case against members of the New Black Panther Party became evident during a House Appropriations subcommittee hearing when Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas) accused the Justice Department of failing to cooperate with a Civil Rights Commission investigation.Holder got in a huff after a comment Culberson read in which a former Democratic activist, Bartle Bull, described the incident as the most serious act of voter intimidation he had witnessed in his career.
"Think about that," the Attorney General said. "When you compare what people endured in the South in the 60's to try to get the right to vote for African Americans, to compare what people subjected to that with what happened in Philadelphia, which was inappropriate....to describe it in those terms I think does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line for my people."
| Not for America, not for justice - for my people. Another unintended 'teachable moment' for those who care to see. |
Earlier in the hearing, Culberson claimed that race had infected the decision-making process. "There's clearly overwhelming evidence that your Department of Justice refuses to protect the rights of anybody other than African-Americans to vote. There's a double standard here," he said.
Holder asserted, "This Department of Justice does not enforce the law on the basis of race."
Rep. Chakah Fattah, a Philadelphia Democrat, said the New Black Panthers "should not have been there." But he contended that the Republicans were making too much out of a passing incident involving only a couple of people.
"The most unethical thing a person can do is make allegations based on absolutely nothing. The only issue of race is singling out this particular decision...That this rises to national significance is bogus on its face," said Fattah.
| Hat tip: Weasel Zippers |